“Nothing will happen. Don’t worry. She ran behind Atharva without even a moment’s breathing room. There was no other way for me to get to her. Relax.”
Samar turned his eyes to the train.
“Hold on…” Sufiyaan’s voice went dead. Samar stared at the small phone.
“Samar Bhai!” Fahad jumped down from the train steps and he cut the call and pocketed the phone. “I can’t reach him, still can’t reach him!”
He nodded, holding his shoulder.
“Where did he go?” Fahad was panicking. “Why are you all not doing anything!” He yelled at the Police. “Should I call our people? How far are we from Leh?!”
A pair of headlights blinded them as a Scorpio screeched to a halt a few metres from the tracks.
“Fahad, wait here with the security.”
“Who are they? I am also coming.”
“Wait,” Samar commanded. “In case we need backup.”
“Who are they?”
Samar did not wait to respond. He strode to the Scorpio, opened the rear door and pushed in. Two of his men slid tighter, and the car turned in a whirl.
“Where are we going?”
“Follow the trail for now. Find wheel marks. Ammunition?”
“In the back.”
Samar reached behind into the last seat and grabbed the first thing he found. A Glock. Amaal’s face invaded his senses. His mobile buzzed, and he saw it light up with Atharva’s location alert. Samar opened the map and punched Atharva’s number. He picked it up on the first ring.
“Atharva!”
“At this location.”
“Got it,” Samar put him on speaker and eyed the map. Atharva was there, but across the lowland of brambles that they couldn’t cross in a four-wheeler. “We are tracking you but we took the other route. Where is Iram?”
“With me. Is there a stream nearby?”
“Wait… checking… Yes, south-east as the crow flies.”
“I think I heard it. We are going there.”
“We will meet you there.”
The call went dead, and Samar pushed his mobile to the front seat — “Here.”
“We will have to go around the forest.”
“Whatever is the shortest route."
The open plains started to become rough, uneven brambles and dry foliage thrashing in the wind.
“It might snow soon.”
Samar felt his burner phone vibrate.
“Hello.”
